Car-coupling.



I H. H. PAULSON.

GAR COUPLING.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 23,1907

Patented Oct. 27, 1908.

J Woy x54 fizz/50nfij his moneys HENRY H. PAULSON, OF MARSHFIELD, WISCONSIN.

CAR-COUPLING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 27, 1908.

Application filed. October 23, 1907. Serial No. 398,795.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY H. PAULSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at .Marshfield, in the county of Wood and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Couplers and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to car couplers, of the Master Car Builders type, and has for its es pecial object to provide an improved knuckle opening attachment therefor.

The invention consists of the novel devices and combinations of devices hereinafter described and defined in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate the invention, like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of the improved cou Ler. Fig. 2 is a view partly in Ian and part y in horizontal section on the ine 90 00 of Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a view partly in elevation and partly in vertical section on the line 00 x of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a view corresponding to Fig. 2, but with some parts broken away and with the knuckle shown in an open position; and Fig.

5 is a detail in elevation, of the knuckle opening attachment.

The numeral 1 indicates the coupler head which is cast integral with a draft bar 2, and the numeral 3 indicates a knuckle which is pivotally connected by a pin 4 to ears 5 of the head 1, the said parts being formed on lines prescribed by the Master Car Builders Association. The coupler head 1 is recessed to form a dog receiving seat 6 in which works a gravity lock dog 7 that is pivotally connected to said head near its upper extremity by a pin 8. This lock dog is of such construction that when released it will swing by gravity in front of the tail 9 of the knuckle 3 and, hence, serves to lock said knuckle in its closed or operative position. The lock dog 7 is provided with a depending lug 10 that works freely in a slot 11 formed in the bottom of the coupler head.

The tail 9 of the knuckle 3, when the latter is in a closed position, is contained within a recess 12 in the coupler head. A small vertical shaft .13 is loosely journaled in the upper and lower parts of the coupler head and extends vertically through the rear portion of the recess 12. To theintermediate portion of this shaft 13 is rigidly secured a knuckle opening arm 14 that normally stands as shown in Fig. 2, with its free end within a pocket 15 formed in the tail of the knuckle, and in close engagement with a rounded shoulder 16 formed on the knuckle tail adj acent to said pocket. Rigidly secured to the depending lower end of the shaft 13 is a short arm 17 having an up-turned free end 18. Loosely pivoted on the lower end of the shaft 13, just above the arm 17, is a releasing lever 19 provided at its inner end with a short arm 20 that is adapted to engage the depending lug 10 of the lock dog 7 to move the latter into a releasing position shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3. A suitable lever actuating connection, such as a chain or rod (not shown) may be attached to the free end of the releasing lever 19 and extended to one side of the car to which the coupler is applied.

The operation is as follows: Normally, the parts stand as shown by full lines in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, and the knuckle is locked by the lock dog. When the releasing lever 19 is moved from its normal position shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 into position shown in Fig. 4, itaccomplishes two things, to-wit, first it moves the lock dog inward or into a position to release the tail of the knuckle, and sec ond, it forces the knuckle into an open osition. The lock dog is forced into its re easing position by engagement of the short arm 20 with the lug 10 thereof, and, when sufficient movement has been given to the releasing lever to move said lock dog into such position, the said lever engages the up-turned end 18 of the short arm 17 and oscillates the shaft 13, thereby causing the arm 14 to press the knuckle into its open position, shown in Fig. 4. As is evident, as soon as the lever 19 is released, said lever and the lock dog 7 will be returned to their normal positions by gravity of the lock dog acting on the lever 19. When the knuckle is forced from its open position back to its closed position, first the tail of said knuckle will return the lock dog 7 and lever 19 to their releasing positions, as shown in Fig. 4, and then, under a further movement of the tail of the knuckle, the arm 14 will be restored to its normal position. As soon as the tail of the knuckle has moved out of the path of the lock dog, said lock dog and releasing lever 19 will again return to their normal positions, thereby locking the knuckle in its closed or operative position, as best shown in Fig. 2. When two cars are knuckle.

coupled together, the lever 19 may be moved I and a gravity actuated lock dog 7, said dog far enough to force the lock dog into a re leasing position, but cannot, of course, be moved far enough at such time to open the The knuckle, however, may be subsequently opened by the further movement of the releasing lever.

The coupler described, while simple, is thought to be efiicient for the purposes had x in vlew.

What I claim is:

1. In a car coupler, the combination with a coupler head, pivoted knuckle and vertically disposed lock dog, said lock dog having 1 a depending lug, of a knuckle releasing arm a coupler head having a pivoted knuckle 3 being pivotally connected to sald head near its upper end and having a depending lug working through a slot in the bottom of said coupler head, of a shaft 13 mounted in said head, a knuckle releasing arm 14 carried by said shaft 13 and operative on the tail of the knuckle, a short arm 17 secured to the lower end of said shaft 13 and provided with an upturned lug 18, and a releasing lever 19 pivoted on the lower end of said shaft 13 and having a short arm 20, which arm 20 is operative on the lug 10 of said lock dog to move the same into a releasing position, and which lever 19, under continued movement, is engageable with the lug 18 of said arm 17 to oscillate said shaft 13 and arm 14 and cause the latter to move said knuckle into an open position, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY H. PAULSON. Witnesses:

CHARLES HAHN, EMRoN WRIGHT. 

